Welcome

The Poland Lab for wheat genetics at Kansas State University focuses on developing improved wheat germplasm along with novel breeding tools and methodologies.
Look around the site to learn more about our research projects and lab members.

Wheat is the most important staple food in the world and grown on more land area than any crop. In 10,000 years, the earth's population has doubled ten times, from less than 10 million to more than six billion now and ten billion soon. Most of the calories that made that increase possible have come from three plants: maize, rice, and wheat. The oldest and most widespread of the three crops is wheat. Wheat is the staple food of mankind, and its history is that of humanity. Read the exciting history of wheat at The Economist. Read More

MANHATTAN — Global populations are booming, food demand is skyrocketing and climate change is threatening food security — meanwhile, access to mobile technology is becoming commonplace. The ground is fertile to harness the power of this global mobile network to create and implement tools to accelerate the development of food crops that can withstand the coming challenges of the 21st century.

Many heads turned when drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, started hovering over the expansive farmlands of Kansas. It was not a military exercise. Researchers at Kansas State University are using drones for a very different purpose — to develop a climate-resilient wheat variety that can combat rising heat and drought.